Not This Year
by colourmexgab
Summary: Sam isn't in her usual Christmas mood due to a life changing event. She does go a bit insane. Can Danny help her get back in the spirit? ONESHOT.SONGFIC.DxS


A/N: Whoa. Am I... UPDATING?! Did I actually FIND time to write? Indeed, I did. :D This is a one-shot I thought of a while ago. It's based on **Aly & AJ**'s song, Not This Year. It's really cool! Listen to it sometime. :D! I'm sorry if this is a bit… sad. Especially for Christmas, but I admit this is really sweet.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Danny Phantom or the song, Not This Year by **Aly & AJ**. Please don't sue me. Dx

DEDICATION: To Danny Phantom Phans who no longer hear that bell (**'The Polar Express'**). I don't hear it either. I'd do anything to get it back.

* * *

The bell rang. Winter vacation has finally begun. The trio packed the books they needed (Mr. Lancer had not been cutting them loose over the holidays) and headed out the double doors. Walking down the street, they talked casually, not aiming towards any given direction. Since school started that morning, the sky had turned slightly gray. Tucker was the first to notice this.

"Looks like it's about to snow." He stated, holding up his hand palm-up to find any signs of water falling from the sky.

"I love snow." Sam sighed, seeing her own breath. She looked towards the clouds, glaring at them as if she could make them fall.

Danny looked up as well. "I can make it snow…" He extended his arm to the moist air and closed his eyes, but Sam's quickly pulled it down.

"Don't bother, Danny. It's okay, really." She smiled softly. Danny grinned for a moment. She hasn't smiled in a few days, and he was happy to see it again. Sam was happy and cheerful in the beginning of December, but lately, she's been more depressed than her usual Gothic-self.

"I have to mail some things for my parents. Hold on, okay?" Sam said as she walked into the Post Office. Danny and Tucker simply waited outside, watching her take a stack of cards out of her bag and giving them to the worker.

Inside, Sam needed to pick-up something as well. A gift from her aunt, maybe. While she waited for the man at the counter to get it, she sat and relaxed; enjoying the moments of total warmth inside the office. She looked around; the room was dull. There were decorations; that's for sure. Even a little plastic tree by the corner, but no signs of life. No busy noises, smell of pine, or, her favorite, music. She opened her bag to see what kind of fake cards she had gotten from her classmates.

Christmas. Christmas. Christmas. No Hanukkah, of course, but she shrugged it off. It was no one's business what her beliefs were, and she'd keep it that way.

_**This Christmas card is so contrived;**_

_**A mannequin looks more alive.**_

_**Haven't meant a word written here.**_

_**The page is full; not one thing sincere.**_

She sighed again, not seeing her breath this time. She put the meaningless cards away. Suddenly, she heard a small bell, and instinctively, she turned her head towards the source of the low sound.

"Grandma, can I get a candy cane?" A small girl asked as she pulled her grandmother's hand toward the counter. Indeed, they were selling small candy canes.

"Okay, but don't tell Mommy." The elderly woman smiled gently, pulling out a dollar from her pocket.

"Hooray!" The child cheered. They hugged for a moment, and then broke apart when the man reappeared from behind the counter.

"Miss," He turned to Sam. "Your package is here."

She had been tearing slightly. She quickly wiped her eyes, and walked to him. Grabbing the gift, she mumbled a small "Thank You" and headed for the door. Outside, Danny and Tucker had been right where she'd left them.

"Geez, Sam. What took you?" Tucker said, looking at his watch. He suddenly went wide eyed. "Whoa! I'm gonna miss my movie!" Quickly turning towards his block, he yelled, "SEE YA LATER!"

Danny and Sam, still standing in front of the Post Office, stared off towards Tucker. He had just left so quickly; and awkward silence fell between them.

"Too bad he can't run that fast in P.E., huh Sam?" Danny chuckled. He looked at her; she was staring blankly into the office. Danny saw a man behind the counter, a girl, and an old woman. Nothing really great in there.

Danny looked back at Sam, just in time to see her burst down and see tears, which at the speed of light turned into a heavy sob. Mortified at her tears, she ran the opposite direction of Tucker's house, going towards her own.

"Sam! Sam, come back!" Danny started to run after her, but slowly stopped. He ran to an alley and turned into the city-wide famous, Danny Phantom. Flying at more than 180 at his ectoplasmic level, he aimed for Sam's house, knowing she'd be cooped up in her room.

He did find her there, bawling her eyes outs on her pillow. While she was now screaming into it, Danny became afraid and hesitated to go inside without her permission.

_**I can't, I can't,**_

_**I can't, I can't take it.**_

_**This is the time to smile;**_

_**I can't fake it.**_

_**Please allow me the chance now**_

_**To break it down.**_

"DANNY! I know you're there." She hollered into the pillow, once again. He had been caught and willingly entered the dark room.

Crackle. Boom. Apparently, Tucker's snow prediction had been wrong. Instead, it seems like buckets of water poured from the sky, like from Sam's eyes. Her window shook from wind and rain, making her yells and sobs seem quieter.

"Shh…" Danny Fenton now sat on her bed, slowly stroking her back. "It'll be okay. I can promise you everything will be okay."

Sam cried even harder.

_**It's not snow; it's rain coming down;**_

_**And the lights are cool, but they burn out;**_

_**And I can't pull off the cheer;**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

Sam turned the back of her head to Danny, slowly calming herself down. "How can you say that?" She whispered. "You don't even know what's wrong."

"But I can promise I'll do everything in my power to help you." He replied. Sam sat up, and looked at Danny. Her eyes were blood-shot red, tears made her face wet, and her hair stuck to her face.

"These aren't one of those things that can't be helped."

_**When I look into the mirror;**_

_**No happiness is present here.**_

_**I'm not supposed to whine.**_

_**I'm not supposed to cry.**_

_**Trying to hold it in, but not this time.**_

"Then, what's wrong?" Danny asked, hoping he didn't cross the line and make her want him to get out and leave her be.

Before he even got a word out of her, she held him and cried onto his shoulder.

_**I can't, I can't,**_

_**I can't, I can't take it.**_

_**This is the time to smile;**_

_**I can't fake it.**_

_**Please allow me the chance now**_

_**To break it down.**_

_**It's not snow; it's rain coming down;**_

_**And the lights are cool, but they burn out;**_

_**And I can't pull off the cheer;**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

He patted her head continuously. "I'm here. I'm here." He repeated softly, giving her the comfort she needed. She finally came around again; he wiped her tears with a brush of his thumb.

"Who's making you feel this way?" His eyes flashed green; anger suddenly filling him. Whoever (or whatever) was hurting Sam would definitely pay.

"It's… my Grandma." A small flash came into the room. Crackle. Boom. The loud noises came after it. "She… died of old age last week."

Danny knew how close the two were. It wasn't like he could bring her favorite person back, but he can try to help. Suddenly, when you think she's run out of tears, it comes flowing back again.

As if she belonged in a mental institution, she shot up from her bed. She ran towards the balcony/window. The sudden rush on water and cold air didn't bother her at all. She stood in the rain and sang.

"**_Don't know, don't know_**

_**If you can hear me.**_

_**I will, I will**_

_**Speak louder for you.**_

_**No more whispering;**_

_**Are you listening?**_

_**I am pleading.**_

_**I am pleading.**_

_**I can't, I can't,**_

_**I can't, I can't take it.**_

_**This is the time to smile;**_

_**I can't fake it.**_

_**Please allow me now the chance now**_

_**To break it down.**_

_**It's not snow; it's rain coming down;**_

_**And the lights are cool, but they burn out;**_

_**And I can't pull of the cheer.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

**_I can't, I can't…_**"

Danny listened closely. Although she had been crying harder than any movie he had ever seen before, she sang beautifully; she hadn't cracked her voice or anything. She was now soaking wet for the storm. Danny walked to her like he was in a trance. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you." He whispered, though it was as clear as day through the crackles and booms in the sky.

Sam croaked. She hadn't when she sang, but it did now. Hesitantly, she replied "I love you, too."

And there on her balcony, they kissed passionately in the storm; freely slipping their tongues into each other's mouths. Years of secret blushes, awkward moments, and fake-out make-outs were exposed, and they had no control over it.

_**It's not snow; it's rain coming down;**_

_**And the lights are cool, but they burn out;**_

_**And I can't pull of the cheer;**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

_**Not this year.**_

A moment later, they pulled apart; trying to find air through the thick raindrops. Danny shot his arm up into the air. Soon, the wind calmed and the drops turned into flakes. He had turned the rain into snow. He watched her glow; puffs of white dissolved into her hair. The sky, which was dark and gloomy just seconds before, had been as light as ever.

"Feel better?" Danny grinned.

Sam gave him one of her 'Christmas smiles' – the one he hasn't seen in a while. "Much."

* * *

A/N: This is defiantly how I feel. I want to scream in my pillow or in the rain where no one can hear me. Sorry this is a really sad, depressing story and for Christmas. But it's one that kind of means a lot to me.

Merry Christmas '07. :D


End file.
